Keep a notebook. Travel with it, eat with it, sleep with it. Slap into it every stray thought that flutters up into your brain. Cheap paper is less perishable than gray matter, and lead pencil markings endure longer than memory.
(Jack London)
My annual journaling prep usually starts around October/November but for 2026, I dragged my feet until the last week of December. And it took me until only last week to finally narrow everything down to these four journals.
1. Ring binder, A7 | My EDC. This little workhorse has been with me since last year, part of my goal to capture everything on paper. It contains quotes, random thoughts, to-do lists, grocery lists, poetry, song lyrics - you name it. Some entries migrate to my other journals, others stay put and get crossed off. It lives in my bag as it's the most convenient to lug around, and honestly, it's my catch-all brain dump.
2. Jibun Techo Kit, A5 slim | This was a last-minute pick. For the past five years, the Hobonichi Weeks was my memory keeper, but I had grown tired of its cramped format. I tried a Jibun Techo back in 2023 but gave up after four months. That year was one hell of a roller coaster ride - Uncle B died in February, I left my job of 15 years a month later, and journaling was impossible. Still, I remember enjoying my Jibun Techo until I didn't, so I'm giving it another shot. With its daily vertical calendar, it gives me the space to map out my schedule and monitor the time I spend on work, chores, reading, gaming, and bedrotting. It also helps me track my sleep, medicine intake, movement, and, yes, my social log, given how rarely I step out of the house these days.
3. Midori Monthly Diary, A5 (in an old Hobonichi Techo cover) | A Christmas gift from T, paired with scented Zebra Midliners. This one's my Gratitude Journal. The monthly calendars hold my Glimmers, the lined pages capture my daily gratitude lists, and the blank pages will possibly hold whatever else spills out. It's simple, but the daily appreciation anchors me, allowing me to mull over my day.
4. Midori Blank Notebook, A5 (in another old Hobonichi Techo cover) | My Dear Diary since November. It's basically the bigger, more colorful sibling of my ring binder, and it stays open on my desk. It catches everything: doodles during calls, drawings when I'm restless, mindmaps when ideas are brewing, bullet points and lists and random thoughts when I'm sorting feelings, and ramblings when I just need to "talk." MD paper is a dream - it takes coloured pencils, fountain pen inks, acrylic markers, even watercolors without complaint. Most of the latest art journal entries in this blog were from this notebook.
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